Not is All as it Seems
by Pillsbury29
Summary: Naruto wakes up one day to find out that his best friend Sasuke has been killed. Naruto is, of course, devastated, but what adds salt to the wound is that he starts seeing Sasuke as if he were still alive. Not is all as it seems though and Naruto soon finds himself a part of something bigger than himself. Warning: Yaoi
1. Death of a Friend

**A/N: This story idea has been floating around in my head for quite a while. Right now it seems normal, but soon there will be a bit more supernatural things happening. Not is all as it may seem in this story. Almost everyone is part of something bigger than they can imagine.**

**Disclaimer: Naruto was mine for about 30 minutes before the police tracked me down and took him away from me.**

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The sound of a cell phone ringing filled the bedroom of the young Naruto Uzumaki, an energetic twenty year old blonde who had a strange fascination for ramen, as evidenced by the empty ramen cups littering the floor of his room. Naruto was laying spread eagle on his bed, his snoring almost as loud as the phone itself. He reached out to his bedside table, where the phone was, and managed to knock it to the ground. He began to grumble loudly, silently cursing whoever it was on the other end, because they had waken him up from his nap.

He rolled off his bed onto the floor and blindly reached for his phone, which was still ringing, among the commotion of Naruto getting up. He finally found it and put it to his ear. Seconds later he bolted upright, an ashen look on his face, quickly followed by one of grief. "Thank you." Naruto brought the phone down from his ear and just held it in his hand, staring blankly at it. He squeezed his hand tightly around the small object before throwing the phone against the wall in a fit of rage.

Naruto let his body fall back on the ground before letting sadness overtake him. His body shook as he began to sob in grief over the loss of his best friend Sasuke Uchiha.

It had been his godmother, Tsunade Sannin on the phone delivering the news. She was a doctor at Konoha Hospital, and had been the one to treat Sasuke's gunshot wounds after he was caught in the middle of a bank robbery. Naruto was overwhelmed by the loss of his friend, and stayed in the same spot for hours, eventually letting sleep take him away from the cruelty of the world.

* * *

Naruto woke up hours later to a banging sound. He was looking around his bedroom for the source of the noise, but when he couldn't find it, he deduced that there was someone at his front door. Naruto pushed himself off of the ground and managed to pull a shirt on before leaving his bedroom.

Naruto was grasping for a hold on the wall because it was dark outside, and all the lights in his house were off. It didn't occur to him, in his disoriented state, that he could turn on the lights. Naruto got to his door, leaning against it as his legs just didn't want to support his weight. When he opened the door he found his friend Sakura Haruno standing there, her eyes watery from grief. Naruto went to say something, but he found that he couldn't speak. His throat hurt and was constricted from the same grief that plagued Sakura. Instead he approached Sakura and wrapped his arms around her, the small frame becoming enveloped by Naruto's larger build.

"N-Naruto." Sakura sniveled. "W-why did this have to happen, to him of all people. It hurts so much. I loved him so much. We were going to have a future together." Instantly a pang of guilt hit Sakura. "Oh my god, you must feel horrible. He was your best friend."

Naruto forced a smile, even though Sakura couldn't see it, being buried in his chest. "It's okay. It'll be okay." Even though Naruto said that, there was something in him that knew that things were bad and that they were going to get worse. He didn't know why, but he just felt it. Call it intuition.

Naruto pushed Sakura off of him and led her into his house. "Come on, it's cold out here."

They went inside the house and they sat on the couch, Naruto pulling a blanket over the crying girl. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Naruto broke the silence. "I know you two loved each other, so I know this is hard for you. I just want you to know that I'm here for you."

But on the inside Naruto couldn't help but feel a twinge of hate for the pink haired girl. Yes, she was his friend, but he had always envied her for what she had. Sasuke's love. Sakura had always envied Naruto for Sasuke's attention, and she finally got it and more. His love. Naruto always had Sasuke's attention, but what he also wanted was his love, unfortunately for him Sasuke never returned those feelings.

Naruto hated to think this way, but if he couldn't have Sasuke, then nobody could. Naruto quickly pushed those thoughts from his head however. He thought of Sasuke as if he owned him, when he didn't. There was just something deep inside Naruto that knew they were meant to be together.

Naruto was brought from his stupor by Sakura's voice. "Do you mind if I stay here tonight? I don't think I can manage to go home. It'll remind me of him too much." Sakura's voice was weak after all the crying she had done.

As much as Naruto wanted to find an excuse to tell her no, he couldn't. He didn't hate the girl, she was actually his friend, but he was human and had feelings too. He couldn't just throw away the bit of jealousy he had, even if it didn't matter anymore, but he couldn't find it in himself to be cruel so he said, "Of course."

Sakura moved herself so that she was now laying on Naruto, using his chest as a pillow. She was asleep within minutes, leaving Naruto sitting there awkwardly trying to figure out how to get out from under her.

He managed to slip out by quickly putting a pillow where his chest formerly was. Naruto had a lot on his mind, so he decided to go on a walk. No matter how bad Naruto was feeling, a walk always managed to make him feel better.

He pulled on a light jacket and sweatpants and slipped into some tennis shoes. He opened the door and walked outside. He took in a deep breath. It was refreshing for him after having been cooped up in the house for the past day.

Naruto began strolling down the sidewalk filtering through his thoughts, which ranged from his unfounded jealousy of Sakura, to his love for Sasuke, to his hatred for the ones that took Sasuke from this world. The blonde got lost in his thoughts, that when he finally came out of them he was standing at the playground that he and Sasuke had played at when they were kids.

Naruto felt a stray tear rolling down his cheeks as childhood memories came back to him. It was here that Naruto and Sasuke met, almost as if fate had made it that way. Naruto was always shunned by other kids, so when he would come to the playground he would swing on the swings by himself. No one would have anything to do with him, that was, until Sasuke came around.

One day Sasuke came to the park, but instead of being ignored by others, he separated himself from others. Naruto saw the same look in Sasuke's eyes that Naruto saw in his own eyes everyday. Seeing this as an opportunity to make a friend, Naruto approached Sasuke. Sasuke normally pushed everyone away, but he didn't do that to the blonde. For some reason they clicked and became the best of friends.

Naruto found himself reminiscing in the swing that he used to sit in everyday. The swing where he first saw Sasuke, and he couldn't stop the sobs from coming.

Naruto rubbed the tears away and when he looked up he saw someone that looked exactly like Sasuke, standing next to the tree where Naruto had first seen Sasuke.

Naruto stood up and yelled out to the person. The person didn't acknowledge the shout, and instead started walking in the opposite direction of Naruto. Naruto, his curiosity piqued, got off of the swing and started after the person. When the raven haired man started to run, so did Naruto. Naruto was about to finally grab the man, when he was stopped by someone walking right out in front of him. It was too late to stop, so Naruto went ahead and collided with this man, causing them both to fall.

"Ow! Why don't you watch where you're going? I mean, really? Just stepping out in front of a running boy? Who does that?" Naruto was ranting and raving, not giving the man a chance to even speak for himself.

When Naruto was finally quiet the other man calmly started saying, "I was just thinking about the little old lady that is stuck in this one tree across the street. My mind was solely focused on saving her that I couldn't afford to watch where I was going."

Naruto facepalmed. "Kakashi..." Kakashi was Sasuke's legal guardian, and almost like a father to Naruto. "I'm sorry for yelling... I'm just upset, and I was chasing someone that looked exactly like Sasuke. I thought that maybe it was all some kind of sick joke and that he was actually alive."

Kakashi looked down sadly. He wore a mask, but his eyes did the talking for him. "Sadly it's not a joke." Naruto watched as Kakashi's mask was stained with a stray tear. "And you said you were chasing someone?" Naruto nodded. "But I didn't see anyone before I saw you. Are you sure your just not seeing things?"

"I'm positive!" Naruto felt anger boiling inside him. He couldn't believe that Kakashi was doubting him. Did Kakashi really think that Naruto would lie about something like this?

"Naruto, listen. It's okay. I would be lying if I said I haven't been seeing things. I've been imagining Sasuke everywhere, even though I haven't seen him as much since he moved out. I promise that it's normal. Listen. Why don't I walk you home and get you into bed. I promise that after some rest you'll feel better."

Naruto wanted to protest, he felt perfect and he hadn't been seeing things. He wanted to argue with Kakashi, but he knew it would get him nowhere and so he complied. He let Kakashi take him home and let him make sure that he was going to go to sleep.

Soon after Naruto had laid down, he felt the pull of sleep and soon he was dead to the world.

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**A/N: This chapter is a sort of prologue. I plan on making future chapters much longer than this. I would love to hear what you all think about this story. I'm excited to start writing it, and I hope you all enjoy!**


	2. Dreams of the Past?

**A/N: I bring the second chapter to all of my lovely readers. I would like to thank everyone that reviewed the last chapter, and I'm glad so many people liked it. I hope that everyone enjoys this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I broke into Masashi Kishimoto's house and took Naruto out of his bedroom. He had Naruto tied up in a corner and I just thought that I would save him, however the police didn't agree with me. Oh well. Being in jail gives me time to write this story.**

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_Naruto was standing in a forest clearing, the sky above becoming overcast, adding to the depression that Naruto currently felt. He knew it had to be done, but it still didn't make it any easier. There were so many things that could go wrong, but like he had thought earlier, it was necessary._

_Naruto walked to the edge of the clearing and looked back into the dark forest impatiently, muttering to himself, "Sasuke was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago." Instantly Naruto started thinking of the worst possible scenarios. 'What if they found him? What if they use him to get to me? Should I go ahead with the plan?' _

_Naruto had so many negative thoughts running through his head, that he wasn't aware of the aforementioned person approaching him. Sasuke slipped up behind Naruto and wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist, planting a small kiss on Naruto's cheeks. "Miss me?" _

_Sasuke smirked when he finally got a reaction out of Naruto. Naruto whirled around and glared at the raven, ready to punch him. "Miss you?! Of course I missed you! Heck, I thought you might have been caught, or worse, killed! You're twenty freaking minutes late! Where have you been?!"_

_Sasuke looked down at the ground, not wanting to meet the blonde's angry glare. "I was being followed, and I had to lose them somehow. It ended up being a much more tedious job than I had previously thought. I'm sorry."_

_Naruto's glare softened into a smile of relief. Relief that the one he cared for most hadn't died. "Oh, don't be sorry. I was just worried. I'm sorry for getting in such an uproar." Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke and met his lips with a kiss. Pulling away, Naruto looked Sasuke in the eyes with determination. "We need to do this now. If they were following you, it won't be long before they pick up on your scent."_

"_Alright, and for our sakes I hope this works." Sasuke was unsure about how their plan was going to unfold. It didn't make a whole lot of sense, and yet at the same time it did. Like Naruto, he knew that there were many things that could go wrong, but the positives outweighed the negatives in this situation._

"_Trust me, so do I. So do I..." Naruto pulled a knife out of his pocket, but it wasn't an ordinary knife. It had special carvings on its hilt, and as Naruto held it in his hands, the carvings started glowing red. The red force started enveloping Naruto, and Naruto began uttering words of a different language. "__oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ tát savitúr váreniyaṃ bhárgo devásya dhīmah dhíyo yó naḥ pracodáyāt." _

_The red force enveloping Naruto soon started spiraling into the sky, rising into the clouds. Naruto looked at Sasuke, and then noticed that there was a pair of people approaching Sasuke, probably the ones who were pursuing them. Naruto knew that it was now or never. If he didn't go through with it they would capture them and their plan would fail. Naruto pointed the knife straight at Sasuke and stabbed him in the heart. The red force surrounded Sasuke and then he disappeared into thin air. Naruto aimed the knife at his own heart, and as soon as the kidnappers saw him do it their eyes widened. As they started rushing towards him, he drove the knife into his heart._

"Agh!" Naruto bolted upright in his bed, his body oozing sweat, causing his bedsheets to stick to him. His breaths were shallow, and he was reaching for his heart to make sure that there wasn't a knife in it. Once Naruto realized that that had just been a dream his breathing started to calm down, and he began to realize that he had a horrible headache. Naruto began rubbing his temples as he recalled the dream he had just had.

Naruto was trying to figure out the meaning of it all, but he wasn't sure what to think. He wanted to go back to sleep to see if he could continue the dream, but he knew that wouldn't be possible with the headache he was sporting. The dream had seemed so real. The fear for Sasuke's life, the anticipation of being chased, the pain from the knife stabbing his heart. It was as if it had happened, and yet it hadn't. Naruto wasn't sure what to make of the dream, and the more he thought about it, the more his head hurt. He decided that thinking about it would only make things worse, and instead opted to wait and see if he had the dream again.

Naruto got out of bed and pulled on some clothes, his stomach grumbling. Naruto realized that he hadn't eaten for about a day. The news of Sasuke's death had caused Naruto to think less of his own well being. Naruto knew that if he didn't take care of himself someone, probably Tsunade, would come knocking on his door to care of him, but he wasn't going to let that happen because that is the opposite of what Sasuke would have wanted him to do.

Naruto made his way to the kitchen where the smell of bacon and eggs soared through the air right to his nostrils. Immediately his mouth started watering, the thought of bacon increasing the hunger pangs. In the kitchen Kakashi was standing in front of the stove holding a frying pan. He was wearing a pink frilly apron that said, 'Kiss the cook!' on it.

"Good morning Naruto!" Kakashi turned his head and smiled, or at least Naruto thought he could see the faint lines of a smile under the mask. Naruto was perturbed by the cheerfulness of the man in front of him. His godson, someone he had taken care of for years, was murdered yesterday, and yet here he was making breakfast for Naruto with a smile on his face.

"Uh... Good morning." Naruto didn't really know what else to say. He couldn't just outright ask, 'So how do you feel now that Sasuke's dead.' That would be really insensitive and blunt, and perhaps in his younger years Naruto would have done that, but he had gained some sense of tact as he had grown up. "How are you doing?" Naruto decided that that was a proper question, not too blunt.

"Oh, I'm doing well. Just enjoying the day. It's nice outside, I mean look." Kakashi used the spatula to point towards the kitchen window. The only problem, it was raining. Not a light rain, but a full on downpour.

At this point Naruto was beginning to think that Kakashi was high, but he didn't say anything. Noticing that Sakura was nowhere to be seen, Naruto decided to see if he could find her. He wanted to get away from Kakashi's weird mood. The blonde walked through his house and yet he couldn't find a single sign of her. He had looked in his bathroom, the living room, the office. There was absolutely no sign of her.

Kakashi's voice drifted from the kitchen to the office, where Naruto was standing above his desk. "If you're looking for Sakura you're not going to find her. I sent her home."

Naruto walked back into the kitchen and took a seat at his kitchen table. "You sent her home?" Naruto turned his head in a questioning gesture. "Why?"

"Because, like you, I can't stand her." Kakashi put some food on a plate and set it on the table in front of Naruto.

Naruto, surprised by the confession looked up at Kakashi with wide eyes. He had never known Kakashi to dislike anyone, especially not his son's girlfriend. Kakashi had always been nice to Sakura, or so Naruto thought. The fact that Kakashi didn't like her came to him as a complete surprise. "Why?" Naruto looked at Kakashi quizzically.

"Did you really not know that? Either my fake niceness towards her was incredibly convincing, or you're just dumb." Naruto was sure that Kakashi was smirking under his mask. "It doesn't really matter. I can't stand her, and I haven't been able to since the day that Sasuke brought her home. Can I be honest with you?" Naruto nodded. "I always wanted Sasuke to end up with you."

For some reason that didn't come as a surprise to Naruto. Heck, coming from Kakashi that was quite normal. Kakashi was gay, and a complete pervert. It wouldn't surprise Naruto if Kakashi had wanted the two together just to fantasize about. He wouldn't put it past the perverted man.

Kakashi slapped Naruto on the back of the head with a spatula. "I know what you're thinking. I wanted you two together so that I could fantasize about you two."

Naruto's mouth dropped. "Can you read my mind? If so, that's creepy. If not, that's still creepy."

"No I can't read your mind, but I know you and I knew that that would be the first thing to come to mind. Anyways, I have Iruka. Why in the world would I need to fantasize about two adults younger than I?"

"I don't know. Variety?" Once again Kakashi hit Naruto with the spatula.

"I don't need variety. Iruka and I have enough of that in our sex life. But that's not the point!" Kakashi facepalmed, annoyed for letting Naruto get him completely off track. "Like I said, I always wanted you two together. You two are, I mean, were perfect for each other. You made each other happy, and I always waited for the day that Sasuke would come home to tell me that you two were together. That never happened, which surprised me. When Sasuke brought Sakura home with him one day, I couldn't help but feel an extreme dislike for her."

Naruto sat there staring at his plate of food which he hadn't yet touched. Kakashi had thought that Naruto and Sasuke were perfect for each other. What if, Sasuke had had feelings for Naruto, and never reciprocated them because Naruto never revealed his true feelings. What if Sasuke went to Sakura only because he felt he couldn't have Naruto?

Kakashi watched as Naruto pushed himself away from the table and walk away, not even glancing towards Kakashi. Naruto did stop in the kitchen doorway and without turning asked, "I loved him. Did he love me? I assume that since you thought we were perfect for each other, that there was some suspicion that he may have felt something towards me. So I'll ask again... Did he love me?"

Kakashi was unsure of how to answer the question. He wanted to tell Naruto the truth, but at the same time he didn't. The truth would hurt him, but so would a lie, because eventually all lies are found out. "Yes. He did. He never told me, but I cold always see it in his eyes. The eyes never lie."

Naruto closed his eyes as he took in this information, and then left Kakashi standing there alone, wondering if he had made the right decision.

* * *

Naruto left his house, pulling on a raincoat, and like the night before found himself walking and thinking. Naruto was confused to say the least, and slowly becoming more depressed. He had a dream, a rather weird dream, but in that dream he and Sasuke were together. That much was obvious from the fact that Sasuke had kissed him in the dream.

Add in the fact that Kakashi thought that Sasuke loved Naruto. What could have happened had Naruto confessed his feelings to Sasuke? Could they have had a relationship? That was what hurt Naruto the most. The pain of the what ifs. Naruto was now doomed with the question of what could have happened had Naruto told Sasuke how he truly felt?

At this moment Naruto started to hear a voice singing. Naruto looked around, but there was no one on the street around him. There were some houses and some cars parked in the streets, but no sign of a living creature around him. The music was floating through the air, almost as if it were coming from across the street from the tops of a few trees. Naruto walked across the street and when he got there looked up into the trees, but couldn't see anyone, even though the sound of the music had gotten louder.

Naruto felt cold chills go up and down his back when he heard the lyrics. They were the same words he had chanted in his dream last night. When the music started fading, the blonde started running in the direction that it was traveling. When he cleared the trees Naruto found himself in middle of a busy intersection. Even with the noise of the city surrounding him, Naruto could still hear the music, albeit faintly.

Naruto looked through the crowd of people to see if he could find the source, and finally he zoned in on a black haired man that was just a few feet in front of him. From the back, just like last night, it looked like Sasuke. Naruto decided to call out his name to see if the man answered, even if Naruto knew deep down that Sasuke was dead.

"Sasuke!" Naruto didn't expect a reaction, but to his surprise he got one. The man turned around, and who did Naruto find staring at him with a smirk on his face? Sasuke. Naruto started to approach him, but by the time he reached the spot where Sasuke was standing, he was gone, lost in the crowd of people.

Naruto felt as if someone had shoved a knife in his chest and twisted it around. That had been Sasuke. There was no denying it in Naruto's mind. He was alive, but at the same time Naruto couldn't believe that because he knew that Sasuke was murdered. Or was he? Naruto still hadn't seen the body, and Kakashi hadn't mentioned a funeral.

Naruto immediately started running home, intent on asking Kakashi some questions as soon as he saw him.

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**A/N: Alright. I hope you enjoyed, and please leave a review telling me how I did and what I can do to improve. See you next time!**


	3. Dreams Caused by Grief

**A/N: And here is the next chapter! I hope you all enjoy. **

**Disclaimer: I took Naruto to a parallel universe, however Masashi Kishimoto somehow found me. He's really protective of Naruto.**

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Naruto ran home as fast as he possibly could. The ground was slippery from the rain, and Naruto had almost fallen flat on his face a few times, but he didn't let that deter him from his current goal. Naruto was determined to get to Kakashi and ask him where Sasuke's body was. He was determined to find out why he hadn't seen the body of his dead friend.

If Sasuke were truly dead, then where was the body? Why was Naruto seeing Sasuke out in public, when according to his grandmother, Kakashi, and Sakura, he was supposed to be dead. Naruto wanted an explanation, and he was going to get it, or at least die trying.

Naruto finally got to his house, and nearly fell through his own front door. Naruto ran into his living room. "Kakashi! You owe me answers right now!" Naruto's shouting roused Kakashi from the nap he had been taking on Naruto's couch.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes, looking at Naruto like he was crazy. "What is wrong with you? Can't you see I was taking a nap?" Kakashi's hair was pointing in every direction, worse than it usually did. Kakashi worked to smooth it out while waiting for an explanation for Naruto's outburst.

"I don't care what the hell you were doing! You owe me an explanation!" Naruto approached Kakashi and pulled his shirt, effectively yanking Kakashi towards him to where they were face to face, Naruto's expression one of sheer anger.

"An explanation? For what? I haven't done anything, at least I don't think I have. I mean I did rescue a dolphin from a vicious shark, but that should be self explanatory. So do enlighten me on what I need to explain to you."

"Tell me why I haven't seen Sasuke's body yet! If he's dead, then where the hell is his body? If he's dead, then why am I seeing him walking around town? Did he secretly have a twin that he didn't tell me about, am I just going crazy, or even worse, is this some kind of sick joke?"

Naruto let Kakashi free from his grip, which caused Kakashi to plop back down onto the couch. He looked up at Naruto for a few minutes, not saying a word. How did Kakashi tell Naruto that he was most likely going crazy? There was no easy way to go about it.

"I had Sasuke's body cremated. That's why you haven't seen the body. I spared you the shock of seeing the state his body was in. You wouldn't have recognized him, and it would have scarred you. I kept you from seeing his body for your own benefit. As for the seeing Sasuke thing, I think you're seeing people that resemble him which leads your brain to connect them to Sasuke. I'm going to call Iruka come over and talk to you. I think that's what you need."

Naruto sighed. "No, that's not what I need. I need Sasuke back." He did not need to talk to anyone, much less Iruka, who was a registered psychiatrist. Naruto didn't need to talk, he needed his best friend, the one person he loved, back.

Kakashi's eyes were filled with pity for the blonde In front of him. He hated to see him in this state, but there was nothing that he could do. As much as Naruto denied that he needed to talk to someone, Kakashi knew that that was the best route. So, ignoring Naruto's pleas, Kakashi took his cell phone out of his pocket and called Iruka.

"Iruka?" Naruto lunged to grab the phone from Kakashi's grasp, but Kakashi took a step backwards and continued the conversation, not missing a beat. "I need you to come over to Naruto's house as soon as possible. I'm afraid that we're having some problems."

"We are not!" Naruto shouted in anger.

"Ignore him. He's in denial of his problems, so if you could get here that would be great. See you later." Kakashi put his phone back in his pocket and looked at Naruto with a smug look. "You know what I think you need? I think you need some sleep. Iruka won't be here for a while, so I think that that's what would be best for you."

"I.." Naruto rethought what he was about to do. "I'll go take a nap." Naruto was too weary to even think about arguing. He knew it would be useless given Kakashi's determination. Naruto walked out of the room and walked up to his bedroom.

Naruto got to his bedroom and laid down on his bed, pulling his bright orange covers over him. Even though he was going to argue with Kakashi and say that he didn't need a nap, he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, and soon the dreams began.

"_Hello Naruto. How are you today?" the cool, calculating voice never failed to unnerve Naruto. Naruto was trapped in a dark, cold jail cell. The floor was stone, and it was wet from a leak somewhere in the roof. Naruto leaned against the stone wall, his arms and legs attached to it by chains._

"_Go away. I'm never going to give you what you want." Naruto had been kidnapped by a group that wanted something from him. He couldn't quite place who the group was, or what they wanted. All he knew was that he wasn't going to let them get their hands on what they wanted. He knew that that would end badly for everyone._

"_Oh, but you will. You have no choice." the man walked over to Naruto, now standing directly in front of him. Naruto turned his head to where he wasn't looking the man in the eyes. The man's eyes had power, and he knew that that power could, and probably would be the death of him._

"_Look at me." the man put his thumb and index finger under Naruto's chin, forcing Naruto to look at him. The man smiled evilly as Naruto struggled against his grip. "Now Naruto, you know you can't escape the inevitable. You've fought and fought for days, but you can't win. Just give in. Give in to us."_

"_Itachi! You're a traitor, and there's no way I'm going to give up! You can't have it! You can't have it! Over my dead body!" The man, Itachi, just smirked at the blonde's outburst. _

"_As stubborn as ever, Naruto. I will get what I want. We will get what I want. It's only a matter of time. Don't worry. You'll make the right decision, I'm sure of it." Itachi left the room, allowing Naruto to mull over those words, which sent a chill up his back._

Naruto bolted straight up out of bed, his body drenched in sweat. "Dear god, what is with these strange dreams!?"

"Dreams?" Naruto jerked his head towards the source of the new voice. "What kind of strange dreams are you having?" Iruka was sitting on the edge of Naruto's bed with a small smile, which easily helped Naruto feel instantly better.

"Oh, it's nothing. The dreams are nothing." Naruto knew that Iruka would press on. Iruka had this uncanny ability to tell when people were lying.

"Naruto, please tell me. How long have you been having strange dreams, and what kind of dreams are you having?" Iruka had a determined look on his face. Like Kakashi, Iruka had a determination in him that couldn't be stopped when he set his mind to it.

"Well..." Naruto didn't necessarily want to tell Iruka about the dreams because he thought that Iruka would think he was weird. I mean, who has the kind of dreams that Naruto was currently having? "They started two days ago, I've only had two of these dreams so far. They seem so real, yet they aren't. Something about them speaks to me, and something about them makes me want them to be real. The first dream I had, you're going to think I'm crazy, do I really have to tell you?"

Iruka gave Naruto a reassuring nod. "Please do. I promise that I won't think that you're crazy."

Naruto rolled his eyes. He should learn to stop resisting, but it was in his nature to be stubborn. "Well then. The first dream involved Sasuke and I. We were running from a group, but the thing is, I don't know what they were after, or who they were for that matter. I have these dreams, and yet there are minute details that aren't revealed to me in the dream. For instance, last night I had a dream that I was in some sort of jail cell. This man, he called himself Itachi. He kept telling me that he would get what he wanted, but I kept resisting. But I don't know what he wanted, it was one of those details that escaped me."

"I see." Iruka closed his eyes, thinking deeply about what Naruto was saying. "This man, Itachi. Do you remember what he looked like?"

"Is that really relevant to helping me get better?" Naruto didn't know why telling Iruka these dreams was important. He felt it a waste of time honestly.

"You would be surprised. Now, if you could remember, what did he look like?"

Naruto tried to capture an image of the man in his head, but for some reason he couldn't do it. It was as if his brain had put a block in his mind preventing him from remembering any detail about the man. "I.. I'm not sure. I can't quite remember him."

"I see..." Iruka had a troubled look on his face which caused some fear to stir within Naruto. "Listen, I think you're having grief induced nightmares. There really is nothing that can be done about it. You'll just have to let them run their course. I wish there were a better way to deal with them, but honestly, other than letting them run their course, there's no alternative. Listen, I've gotta go talk to Kakashi for a bit. You should work on getting some rest, alright?"

"But that just means that the dreams will come back." At this point Iruka had already left the room, and Naruto shouted after him. "They'll come back if I sleep again, right?! Iruka?"

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**A/N: Reviews are welcomed. I crave for opinions on how to improve my story.**


	4. He's Back

**A/N: Sorry about the wait for the chapter. Life has been a bit hectic lately what with school starting, but here it is at long last. I hope you all enjoy, and please review and tell me how I'm doing.**

"It's not going how we planned." Iruka's voice held a faint hint of panic as he told Kakashi about his concerns.

"Oh, really? What made you think that?" Kakashi responded with indifference. While Iruka was worried, Kakashi knew that the plan wouldn't go as well as they had hoped. Plans never worked, so Kakashi never got his hopes up.

"Shut up Kakashi. You should be worried too. I thought that as soon as Naruto encountered a major trauma involving Sasuke his memory would come back, but it's not working. His memory is coming back, but only in his dreams.

Naruto was snooping on the conversation between the two men. Naruto was going to go back to sleep after having been interviewed by Iruka, but he realized he couldn't go back to sleep. He decided that he would go talk to Iruka and ask him a few more questions, but when he discovered that Kakashi and Iruka were talking, he decided to eavesdrop. Rude? Maybe, but they _were _talking about him.

Now Naruto was confused. Plan? Memory coming back? Dreams? Did these dreams actually mean something? Were they real? No, they couldn't be. Iruka knew that Naruto was spying on them and so he was playing with Naruto's mind. They were just being jerks.

"Maybe we should have Sasuke come and talk to Naruto. That might help speed up the process of memory regeneration." Kakashi's words struck at Naruto like a knife. Sasuke? Alive? Was Naruto actually not crazy?

"I'm way ahead of you. He's on his way." Okay, Naruto was going to in there and punch Iruka. They were both taking this joke entirely too far. Bringing Sasuke over here? He was dead, he couldn't be brought to talk to Naruto. They were just being jerks.

Naruto reached out with his hand to open the door, but as soon as his hand touched the doorknob, another pale hand covered his own. Startled, Naruto looked up straight into the black eyes that he longed for, the eyes that haunted him.

Sasuke was standing in front of him, in the flesh. Sasuke brought a finger up to his lips, and Naruto took the hint. Sasuke, holding Naruto's hand, led Naruto out of the house and into Naruto's front yard.

"Sasuke?" Naruto took in the sight of the raven, trying to comprehend exactly what was going on.

"Not here." Naruto couldn't help but smile. Sasuke's voice was like music to his ears. The raven smirked upon seeing Naruto's smile, knowing that he was the cause of it.

Naruto followed Sasuke out onto the sidewalk where a car was waiting for them. Sasuke got in the driver's seat, Naruto joining him in the passenger's side. Sasuke started the car and began driving. Naruto opted to stare out the window and watch the scenery go by, as he was afraid to look Sasuke in the eyes. Naruto was afraid that he would turn back around and find that it wasn't Sasuke but rather someone trying to kidnap him.

But when the car stopped, Naruto turned his head and Sasuke was still there with his hands on the steering wheel. "Are you going to tell me what's going on? I've been told that you were dead." A wave of emotions hit Naruto in that moment, and he began sobbing. His body shook with grief as he cried into his hands. Sasuke watched Naruto with eyes full of sadness.

"I know that sorry won't be enough, not for all of the pain that I've caused you, but I am sorry. It was necessary. You'll find out why soon enough."

Sasuke flinched when he felt a fist connect with his right cheek. "Necessary?! How in the world was it necessary?!"Naruto's eyes burned with rage. It took all of Naruto's willpower to keep himself from launching himself at Sasuke. "Do you realize that I've loved you for all these years? I've watched you from afar. I've watched you fall in love with Sakura, and no matter how much it hurt me, I never said a word. Then I get news that the one person I truly love is dead. That news broke me, but here I am a few days later discovering that that pain was unnecessary. How the hell was that necessary?!"

Sasuke eyed Naruto guiltily. He wanted so bad to tell Naruto everything, but he knew that that wasn't how it worked. He had to let Naruto figure it out himself. Was it fair? Not really, but it was the only way. "I promise you, if I could have avoided it all, I would have. When I got in a relationship with Sakura I had told myself repeatedly that you would never love me the way I loved you. I opted to settle for her, not knowing you felt the same towards me. But little did I know that we are both part of something bigger than we ever thought, at least in this life time that is." The last part was added as a bit of a mutter to the point where Naruto didn't hear it.

Naruto looked down towards the ground avoiding Sasuke's gaze. Naruto had no idea how he truly felt in this moment. He was elated to know that he finally had the love of the only he one he truly ever cared for, but at the same time he didn't know how to react to the whole situation.

"I know that you're unsure right now, but just trust me. Do you trust me Naruto?" Sasuke took his hands from the steering wheel and grasped Naruto's hand. A warmth spread from Naruto's hand into his whole body and he knew that he trusted Sasuke with his life.

"Yes. I trust you."

Sasuke smiled tenderly. "Good. Come with me then." Sasuke got out of the car and came around to the passenger side. He opened the door for Naruto and helped him out. "There's something I need to show you."

They walked up a cobblestone path that led to a very old house, probably at least 100 years old. The bricks were falling off of the house, the wood of the porch was rotting, and the grass was taller than Naruto. "Why are we here? It looks like no one's been here for years."

"It seems that way, but we have an old friend that lives here." Sasuke pushed ahead of Naruto and went up to knock on the front door.

Naruto stood in the middle of the cobblestone path with a puzzled look on his face. "Old friend? Are you going crazy? I've never seen this house before, much less had an old friend who lives here." Naruto wanted to call shenanigans on this whole thing. For all he knew he was having one of those strange dreams again. He even pinched himself only to come to the realization that it was in fact, not a dream.

"All will be revealed soon enough." Naruto was getting tired of Sasuke's aversions. Was it really that hard to get a straight answer? "Now, follow me."

"Whatever." Naruto was wary of the whole situation, but he followed Sasuke. Naruto trusted Sasuke with his life. He knew that Sasuke would never intentionally lead him into danger.

"Lady Chiyo, I have brought him." That name sounded familiar to Naruto, but he couldn't place it. It was one of those things that you know you knew, but it was just beyond the realm of comprehension.

"Ah, good. Good." The voice that answered Sasuke was one of an older woman Naruto surmised. The voice held the knowledge and loneliness that comes with age. When they came into the room where the voice came from, Naruto found his inference to be true. Sitting on the floor in front of him was a short woman, her face aged with wrinkles. She had a brown headband coupled with a white robe. "Naruto my boy, it's been so long."

Chiyo stood up and walked over to Naruto. Almost a foot taller than her, Naruto had to look down to see her. She pulled him into a hug, and Naruto did the only thing he knew to do, which was to reciprocate the hug.

A million questions were pushing themselves to the front of Naruto's brain, but he didn't want to be rude and ask them. He wanted to know who Chiyo was, and yet at the same time he knew who she was. So, why was it that Naruto knew who she was when at the same time he didn't?

"Now I know you don't really remember me. That's why you're here though. I'm here to help you recover part of yourself. The part that has been lost to the test of time."

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Naruto." Sasuke's voice startled Naruto, he had almost forgotten that the raven was with him. "It's best not to ask questions, because you'll have your answers very soon."

Chiyo nodded in agreement. "Yes, answers are what await you beyond this door." Chiyo stepped to the side to reveal a door Naruto had not seen when he had entered the room. The door was decorated to look like the night sky, and Naruto would have believed that it was the night sky if he hadn't known better. "Now, Naruto. I want you to walk through the door."

Naruto jumped back, eyes wide and arms raised. "You want me to what?!"

"Walk through the door. Is that not a simple concept to understand. Just trust me. I've trusted you with blind faith in the past, I want to ask you to do the same for me." Chiyo smiled and for some reason Naruto couldn't find it in him to tell her no, and so he took a few steps forward. He hesitated for a moment but Sasuke came up to him and kissed him.

The kiss seemed to last for hours and Naruto didn't want to pull away from Sasuke, but he knew he had to. Sasuke's little gesture was enough for the butterflies to leave Naruto's stomach and encourage him to as Chiyo put it 'walk through the door.'

Naruto stepped forward and stood in front of the door. Without thinking about what he was about to do, he took a step forward and fell through the door. He was surrounded by what seemed to be the night sky. Voices were surrounding him, it was as if there was an audience surrounding him, all of them talking to him at once. A yellow light surrounded him, and finally, memories from long ago were reawakened within him.


End file.
